Okanagan Regional Library

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Okanagan Regional Library Administrative Centre
Okanagan Regional Library
49°51′42″N119°28′08″W / 49.86166683562736°N 119.46892081594086°W / 49.86166683562736; -119.46892081594086
Location1430 K.L.O. Rd
Kelowna, British Columbia
V1W 3P6
Established1936
Branches30
Collection
Items collectedbooks, e-books, music, cds, periodicals, maps, genealogical archives, business directories, local history
Size25,000 (2011) [1]
Access and use
Circulation3.2 M (2013) [2]
Population served400,000 [3]
Other information
Website ORL website

The Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) system serves the Okanagan region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its administrative headquarters are in Kelowna. The system covers 59,000 square kilometers of area, and serves 360,000 people through 30 branches. ORL was founded in 1936. In 2013, the library held 3.2 million physical items. [2] The library is largely funded through tax revenues from four administrative areas, the Regional District of North Okanagan, [4] the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District, and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen. [5] It also receives funding from the provincial and federal governments.

Contents

In November 2018, the ORL collaborated with the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) to open an on-campus branch [6] to serve the UBCO community. [7]

In 2019 the first Makerspace [8] was added to the ORL system at the Westside Learning Lab. Soon after a makerspace in the Downtown Kelowna, Vernon, Lumby, Golden, and Revelstoke library branches. [9] Makerspaces are equipped with maker technologies including: [9] 3D printers, recording studios, Cricut Makers, Glowforge laser cutters, and sublimation printers and heat presses.

Patrons of the library are also able to borrow more than books. The ORL has a Library of Things [10] (LoT) that houses different kits and technologies that are abled to be checked out for a period of time. Different kits in the LoT include: outdoor activity kits, Snap Circuits, birding backpacks, Sphero Bolt, Ozobot Evo, Code and Go Robot Mouse, Microscope, Home Energy thermal camera, radon detector, and carbon dioxide monitor.

The Westbank Branch has a active writers group: Westbank Writers' Group [11] . Members meet weekly to share and discuss their writings.

Locations

History

In 1935, residents of the Okanagan participated in a referendum to decide whether to start a library system in the valley. After a majority voted "yes", the first Kelowna library, then called the Okanagan Union Library, was constructed. The original collection was 18,000 items, and served a population of about 25,000. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okanagan Lake</span> Lake in British Columbia, Canada

Okanagan Lake is a lake in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The lake is 135 km (84 mi) long, between 4 and 5 km wide, and has a surface area of 348 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okanagan</span> Region of British Columbia, Canada

The Okanagan, also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the United States as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, and West Kelowna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salmon Arm</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 1905. The city of Salmon Arm separated from the district in 1912, but was downgraded to a village in 1958. In 1970, the city of Salmon Arm once again reunited with the District Municipality. Salmon Arm once again became a city in 2005, and is now the location of the head offices of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District. It is a tourist town in the summer, with many beaches, camping facilities and house boat rentals. Salmon Arm is home to the longest wooden freshwater wharf in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional District of Central Okanagan</span> Regional district in British Columbia, Canada

The Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia, representing two unincorporated Electoral Areas of Central Okanagan East and Central Okanagan West, along with the member municipalities of the City of Kelowna, City of West Kelowna the District of Lake Country, the District of Peachland and Westbank First Nation. The RDCO office is located in Kelowna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Okanagan—Shuswap</span> Federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada

North Okanagan—Shuswap is a federal electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. The district has been sporadically known as Okanagan—Shuswap.

Yale–Cariboo was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1917.

Okanagan-Westside was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 2001 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sicamous</span> District municipality in British Columbia, Canada

Sicamous is a district municipality in the Shuswap Country region of south central British Columbia. The place is adjacent to the narrows, which is the confluence of Mara Lake into Shuswap Lake. At the BC Highway 97A intersection on BC Highway 1, the locality is by road about 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Revelstoke, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kamloops, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Vernon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Country</span> District municipality in British Columbia, Canada

Lake Country is a district municipality with a population of approximately 15,000 in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the Central Okanagan Regional District, and of the Kelowna metropolitan area. The city of Kelowna lies to the south, while the city of Vernon lies to the north. As its name suggests, there are a number of lakes in the vicinity of Lake Country, and outside the municipal boundaries in the hills to the east. Okanagan Lake defines the western boundary of the municipality, while the entirety of Wood Lake and the southernmost portion of Kalamalka Lake are encompassed by it.

Lumby is a small community of 2,063 people, located near the edge of the Monashee Mountains. It is mainly a logging, manufacturing and agriculture community.

The University of British Columbia Library is the library system of the University of British Columbia (UBC). The library is one of the 124 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). In 2017, UBC Library ranked 29th among members of the ARL for the number of volumes in library, making it the third largest Canadian academic library after the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta. However, UBC Library ranked 23rd for the titles held and second in Canada, and had a materials expenditures of $13.8 million, placing it 44th.

The Okanagan Nation Alliance is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, spanning the Nicola, Okanagan and Similkameen Districts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and also the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state of the United States of America. Their territory covers roughly 69,000 km2 in the Canadian Province of British Columbia and also some area of Washington state in the United States of America. The diverse landscape covers deserts, lakes, forests, and grasslands.

The UBC's Okanagan Campus is one of the University of British Columbia's campus located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Kelowna</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

West Kelowna, formerly known as Westbank and colloquially known as Westside, is a city in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. The city encompasses several distinct neighbourhoods, including Casa Loma, Gellatly, Glenrosa, Lakeview Heights, Shannon Lake, Smith Creek, Rose Valley, Westbank, and West Kelowna Estates. West Kelowna had an estimated population of 34,883 as of December 31, 2018.

An electoral redistribution was undertaken in 2008 in British Columbia in a process that began in late 2005 and was completed with the passage of the Electoral Districts Act, 2008 on April 10, 2008. The redistribution modified most electoral boundaries in the province and increased the number of MLAs from 79 to 85. The electoral boundaries created by the redistribution were first used in the 2009 provincial election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelowna Regional Transit System</span>

Kelowna Regional Transit System is operated by FirstCanada, providing public bus transportation services in part of the central Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Funding for the transit system is shared between the City of Kelowna, Regional District of Central Okanagan, District of Lake Country, City of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and BC Transit, while the planning and routing decisions are primarily made by Kelowna City Council. Kelowna Regional Transit was one of the first public transit systems in Canada to have double-decker buses, and the first in Canada to have hybrid buses on regular routes. The hybrid and double deckers buses have since been relocated to Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grindrod, British Columbia</span> Unincorporated place in British Columbia, Canada

Grindrod is an unincorporated community in south central British Columbia, Canada. Concentrated on the western shore of the Shuswap River, the place borders the Shuswap and Okanagan regions. On BC Highway 97A, the locality is by road about 46 kilometres (29 mi) southwest of Sicamous, 19 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Salmon Arm, and 51 kilometres (32 mi) north of Vernon.

97 Express Kelowna RapidBus or 97 Okanagan is a bus rapid transit line operated by Kelowna Regional Transit System since September 2010 in Central Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada. The service connects UBC Okanagan Exchange, Downtown Kelowna and Westbank Centre. 97X RapidBus offers high speed bus service by utilizing traffic signal priority and HOV lanes on Highway 97.

An electoral redistribution in British Columbia was undertaken by the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission beginning in 2014 and was formalized by the passage of Bill 42, the 2015 Electoral Districts Act, during the 40th British Columbia Parliament. The act came into effect on November 17, 2015. The redistribution added two seats to the previous total, increasing the number of MLAs in the province from 85 to 87. The electoral boundaries came into effect for the 2017 election. The next redistribution is required to occur following the 2020 British Columbia general election.

References

  1. 1 2 "Okanagan library celebrates 75 years". Vernon Morning Star. Feb 12, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Board of the Okanagan Regional Library (2013). "Okanagan Regional Library Annual Report, 2013": 5.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ↑ "About the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL)" (PDF). City of West Kelowna.
  4. ↑ "Okanagan Regional Library". Regional District of North Okanagan.
  5. ↑ "Okanagan Regional Library Board". Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.
  6. ↑ Wellborn, Patty (2018-11-02). "Okanagan Regional Library opens branch at UBC". UBC Okanagan News. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  7. ↑ Lacey, Sajni; Lomness, Arielle (January 2020). "Better together: Assessing a leisure reading collection for an academic and public library partnership". The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 46 (1): 102023. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2019.03.011. S2CID   150077351 . Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "New Okanagan learning lab stirs creativity, imagination with some pretty cool technology - Okanagan | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  9. 1 2 "Makerspaces | Okanagan Regional Library (ORL)". orl.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  10. ↑ "Library of Things | Okanagan Regional Library (ORL)". orl.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  11. ↑ "Westbank Writers' Group motivate each other to achieve dreams". Kelowna Capital News. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
  12. ↑ "BC Wildfire Service". wildfiresituation.nrs.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2023-09-12.

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